1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to reciprocating piston engines, and more particularly to a rechargeable steam engine system.
2. Description of Related Art
An internal combustion engine is one in which combustion of the fuel takes place in a confined space, producing expanding gases that are used directly to provide mechanical power. Such engines are classified as reciprocating or rotary, spark ignition or compression ignition, and two-stroke or four-stroke. The most familiar combination is the reciprocating, spark-ignited, four-stroke gasoline engine, commonly found in automobiles.
The first person to experiment with an internal-combustion engine was the Dutch physicist Christian Huygens, about 1680. But no effective gasoline-powered engine was developed until 1859, when the French engineer J. J. Étienne Lenoir built a double-acting, spark-ignition engine that could be operated continuously. In 1862 Alphonse Beau de Rochas, a French scientist, patented but did not build a four-stroke engine; sixteen years later, when Nikolaus A. Otto built a successful four-stroke engine, it became known as the “Otto cycle.” The first successful two-stroke engine was completed in the same year by Sir Dougald Clerk, in a form which (simplified somewhat by Joseph Day in 1891) remains in use today. In 1885 Gottlieb Daimler constructed what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine: small and fast, with a vertical cylinder, it used gasoline injected through a carburetor. In 1889 Daimler introduced a four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves and two cylinders arranged in a V, having a much higher power-to-weight ratio; with the exception of electric starting, which would not be introduced until 1924, most modem gasoline engines are descended from Daimler's engine.
The most common internal-combustion engine is the piston-type gasoline engine used in most automobiles. The confined space in which combustion occurs is called a cylinder. The cylinders are now usually arranged in one of four ways: a single row with the centerlines of the cylinders vertical (in-line engine); a double row with the centerlines of opposite cylinders converging in a V (V-engine); a double zigzag row somewhat similar to that of the V-engine but with alternate pairs of opposite cylinders converging in two V's (W-engine); or two horizontal, opposed rows (opposed, pancake, flat, or boxer engine). In each cylinder a piston slides up and down. One end of a connecting rod is attached to the bottom of the piston by a joint; the other end of the rod clamps around a bearing on one of the throws, or convolutions, of a crankshaft; the reciprocating (up-and-down) motions of the piston rotate the crankshaft, which is connected by suitable gearing to the drive wheels of the automobile. The number of crankshaft revolutions per minute is called the engine speed. The top of the cylinder is closed by a metal cover (called the head) bolted onto it. Into a threaded aperture in the head is screwed the spark plug, which provides ignition.
A significant disadvantage present with the use of internal combustion engines that burn hydrocarbon fuel is the resulting pollution. In order to meet U.S. government restrictions on exhaust emissions, automobile manufacturers have had to make various modifications in the operation of their engines, primarily to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides and other toxic substances. The pollution generated by conventional internal combustion engines has spurred the development of engines capable of delivering power while significantly reducing, or entirely eliminating, polluting emissions.
U.S. Pat. No. 289,250, issued to Goyne discloses an operating valve for steam pumps wherein the piston is caused to flow forward and backward power strokes when the cylinder impacts piston L thereby moving slide valve C such that steam enters the opposite side of the piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 371,636, issued to Snow, discloses a Steam Bell Ringer wherein a suspended bell is swung by the thrust of a piston of a single acting engine wherein the steam-inlet is closed and the exhaust passage opened early in the stroke. Snow discloses use of a “three-winged puppet valve,” referenced as “V” for controlling the admission of steam under the piston. The tail of valve “V” extends into the cylinder cavity so as to be struck by the piston in its decent thereby opening the valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 384,095, issued to Snow, discloses a Steam Bell Ringer wherein further improvements are disclosed. Steam is admitted under piston “B” to drive same upward to the upper end of its stroke until its momentum is spent whereafter “gravity” will cause it to descend.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,900, issued to Hunnicutt, discloses a fluid motor having an automatically operable servo valve that is directly responsive to pressure conditions and the position of the piston within the displacement chamber. A piston is resiliently biased toward one end of the cylinder by a compression spring. Compression spring functions to move the piston to its starting position where the face contacts an extending nose portion of poppet valve. Engagement of the poppet valve allows air to enter though conduit and throttle valve.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,517, issued to Kownacki et al., discloses a fluid engine wherein a valve rod is movably housed to open a valve opening and close exhaust apertures during the piston's power stroke.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,441, issued to Harju, discloses a pneumatic piston/cylinder apparatus which performs a single working stroke in one working direction, and is returned to its initial position without any external supply of compressed air by using a second compressed air channel to return the piston to its initial position.
Many of the references in the background art rely on steam as the working fluid. The use of steam as a working fluid relies on a steam generating apparatus, such as a boiler capable of producing high pressure steam. Use of a high pressure steam boiler, however, is considered undesirable due to complexity and the danger associated with high pressure steam. Furthermore, the high temperature associated with steam requires components capable of withstanding such temperatures further complicating the apparatus. A further complication recognized with fluid motors has been the development of a reliable reciprocating motor having simplified mechanics that provide reliable automatic cycling. The references in the art disclose overly complex valve and control structures that increase cost and degrade reliability. The references disclosed in the art simply fail to provide a reliable reciprocating piston motor. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved reciprocating piston motor capable of use in powering a wide variety of devices.